When one pretends to write a scenario on a major historical period of ANY country he has the obligation the historical facts of that period. The French Revolution whether one agrees to what happened or not, is a major event of my country. I completely disagree with the idea that It benefited France as one of it consequences was to deprive the country of some of the most illustrious scientist (Antoine Lavoisier father of modern Chemistry for instance), writers (André Chénier famous French poet), etc... of the time. But there is one thing which is intolerable is to transvestite events. Who can seriously imagine that one could escape unnoticed during the minutes between you were called in the prison and driven to the cart which would bring you to the guillotine which by the way was Place Louis XV the actual Place de la Concorde which topography remained the same but for the presence of the Luxor obelisque set much later in the center of the square.
The only known and established fact of people escaping the guillotine concerns some of the actors of the Comédie Française. Charles Labussière (1768-1809) was an actor of the theater. He was employed by the "Comité de Salut Public" as he needed money to live. The Committee would establish lists of people who should be forwarded to the Revolution Tribunal last step before the guillotine. Labussière was so distressed to see on the lists names of people he admired, authors, scientists, actors that he imagined a way to slow down their presentation to the tribunal and eventually escape their fate. He would snatch the document concerning those people's names, make a small ball of the paper and soak them in a bucket of wine under his desk. At night after leaving his office he would go to the river and throw the balls of paper in the Seine where they would dissolve and be taken by the current. The Committee did not make copies of the lists so that the Tribunal could not double check the names presented to it. It is estimated that by Labussière's courageous act some 1000 persons escaped the fatal end among them a great number of the Comédie Française actors. Among the famous persons of the time were Florian one of the major french fabulists and Josephine de Beauharnais future wife of Napoleon and Empress during the 1st Empire. As one can imagine Labussière played a very dangerous game as risking his head if he had been discovered. This is history, this movie is nothing but invention without any interesting purpose. Period movies should somehow increase the knowledge of the viewers at the same time it entertain the public. Even Alexandre Dumas novels which contain many errors, have a historical foundation which made the story credible. Michelet History of France also contains approximation but they were due to absence of documents at the time the book was written and would be corrected later. These are valid excuses, in this film nothing can excuse such incoherence. We know the facts for certain today and have to use them.
Review of The Scarlet Pimpernel
